


Through the whispering void

by Ministry_Of_Fandom



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Don't question how Thranduil managed to appear, Hearing Voices, Hurt/Comfort, Insanity, Kissing, M/M, Not finished yet, Possibly Pre-Slash, References to alcohol addiction, Romance, Sorry Not Sorry, angsty as all hell, i have no idea what im doing, multi-chapter fic WIP, sad bard has nobody, this is probably so bad im so sorry, tw attempted suicide, very much WIP
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-24
Updated: 2015-03-24
Packaged: 2018-03-19 09:57:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3605928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ministry_Of_Fandom/pseuds/Ministry_Of_Fandom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>War leaves no man or woman unscathed, Bard knows this truth all too well. All he needs is someone to pull him out of the void.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Through the whispering void

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter was inspired by a dream I had, I'm thinking of expanding this further (maybe 4-5 chapters?)
> 
> Was listening to: Good Enough-Lifehouse, and my obligatory smut/romance song: Of the Night-Bastille, I'm always listening to music to help me write stuff it helps with my writing tone. 
> 
> Second fic up so woo, I've had this one hanging around in my folder for a while and its one of the only ones with a proper completed chapter ready for posting so I decided that I may as well.
> 
> ~UPDATEs ~  
>  ~~I'm currently going to be away from 28th for 3 weeks, during this time I will not be updating but when I get back on the Friday I will finish chapter 2 and get it posted ~~~~~~  
>  ~~I'm Back from NZ, I'll continue working on the next few chapters and will have them up as soon as I can, sorry for the wait guys :)~~  
>  Ok so ive done some major re-editing of chapter 1, I must have been half asleep when I wrote this JFC. So its alot better now and deals with Bards condition in a more considerate manner as far as PTSD goes, a few cheesy dialogue bits and awkward sentences have been fixed up as well as a few minor OOC fixes. Nothing too major :P. Anyways next 2 chapters are coming along slowly, but they're getting there. I might have a few other works up in between now and when the next chapter of this gets posted. Hang in there! :)

Bard rested his forehead against the edge of the oak table, running both hands through his hair. The war had taken its toll on him, deep scars ran through his body and in his mind. The shouting and bloodcurdling cries of agony and rage had lingered in Bard's mind well on after the war had finished. The town of Dain had been rebuilt since then, and he had been proclaimed king, taking the position reluctantly if only to please the townsfolk . He spent his waking hours alone, haunted by the voices and visions of the war, drinking himself unconscious to fade them away so he could sleep peacefully.

Tonight was such a night. Bard re-positioned his head so his chin was resting on top of the wooden table with his arms outstretched in front of him. He looked over to the small plate of warm food in front of him, a small portion of meat lay upon the plate -he was certain it was chicken- beside it lay a pile of mashed potato laced with steamed vegetables. There was a small half-empty glass of wine beside his plate. Bard sighed and picked at the food with his fork, then sat up and decided to try and force something wholesome down.

The night air was freezing despite the fact that winter had only set in a few days ago, interrupting the mild autumn weather and turning Dain into a freezing hellhole overnight. The plate of food cast a warm radiance on Bard's face, making him drowsy, He pulled his coat in closer and shivered in the cold night air, wishing he had thought to put on more layers before he came down to eat. The warmth from the food would have been inviting, were it not for the thoughts that were consumed him in the frigid, lonely, cold of the night, casting a shadow over his being and slowly dragging him towards insanity.  
He had tried to seek the company of the townspeople, drinking down at the tavern and trying to make a little conversation. But he found their comfort was empty, they had no understanding of his worries and pain. Where they had close family and friends to support them, Bard had little more than a few distant children. His eldest son and daughter who were already independent of him and his youngest daughter, who was well on her way to becoming so. Bard spend his days in the town hall by himself, drinking away his worries and stopping only to approve of the occasional plan that was brought to him. About the only thing he had gained from the tavern was a bad drinking habit. He downed the last of his wine and ate a few slivers of the chicken and vegetables, it was barely enough to sustain him. He got up from his chair and looked around, the large rectangular table in the main hall was devoid of anyone except for him.

Bard sighed and shuffled away from the table, heading off toward his quarters. He remembered there being some rope in one of his drawers he could tie a noose with, there wasn't much point to being here anyways. He reached the stairs and started climbing upwards, reminiscing over the war as he went, indulging in the dark thoughts he had tried to quell. He remembered when he had fought alongside the townsfolk, the anguished screaming of slaughtered men that had echoed through the air. He reached the top of the stairs, dragging his feet along the hall. He remembered the elven king Thranduil, his kindness and the aid he had given to Laketown. He was someone who he had once hoped to give his gratitude to someday, but what was that worth now.

Bard let a sad smile fade across his lips as he reached his room and opened the door, he was sure the rope was in the third drawer. It was there, buried under his clothes. He blinked back tears and winced, the voices had fully consumed his head, hollering in agony and rage as they grasped to take over his mind. Bard pressed a hand up to his now aching head, he used the bed to reach one of the roof beams and attach part of the rope. He got down and tied the noose, he held it in his shaking hand, the echoes of the war surrounded and engulfed him in a great, black void. He was trapped in the blackness, with no escape from the voices or visions. The shouting faded into harsh whispers as the blackness closed in around his body.  
Bard opened his eyes and jolted forward in shock as two hands firmly gripped both of his, which had pulled the noose halfway down his head. Bard was unsure of when he had done that. The hands pulled the noose back up over his head and pried it out of his hands. Bard turned around to find Thranduil and blinked, no, he must have been hallucinating, Or dead already...

"Bard...?"

Shaking and barely able to carry his own weight, his legs gave out under him and he fell to his knees. He tried to push himself up and sniffled, covering his face with his hands. Thranduil hooked one arm behind the man and used the other to bring Bard's face up to look at him. Thranduil sighed painfully at the sight of him in such a disheveled state.

"You would take your own life, over what? Is there no better way to solve your problems?"

Bard sobbed, he wiped away thick tears and looked at the elf. He pushed away the hand under his chin and lowered his head, his voice no more than a shaky whisper.

"The war is over, yet the visions and sounds of the battle still haunt me... They are driving me to madness, I-I cant take it any more."

He slowly helped the bowman walk over to the bed and gently sat him down, he got to work removing the rope from the roof beam. Once this was done he rested himself against the the windowsill next to Bard's bed. The king looked down to the rope he was holding in his hand and shook his head.

_I'm going to have to burn this later, and any other loose rope I find around the hall._

"Bard, perhaps its time you found a way to busy yourself, it would do you some good to get out of this manor."

"What are you suggesting?"

"There is a barge lying unused in the moor, perhaps you would start trade with my realm again?"

Bard looked up to Thranduil and smiled weakly, the thought of having him as support was relieving, but it did little to help with the voices.

"I suppose it is time, thank you."

"For what?" He stared out the window, distracted. Something in the distance had caught his attention.

Bard ran a hand through his dark hair. He was able to ease himself of the bed and walk over to where the elf was standing, he pulled Thranduil into a warm embrace.

"What do you think?"

Bard looked up, his left hand resting on Thranduil's shoulder as his right moved over to cup the other man's cheek. Bard rested his forehead against the elf's, brushing their noses together, Thranduil's breathing hitched, his eyes grew wide.

"Bar- Mmmff!"

Bard pressed his lips to Thranduil's and lifted his left hand up to run his fingers through Thranduil's long hair. As Bard deepened the kiss, to his surprise he felt the elf tentatively kissing back and curling a warm hand behind his neck. The pale moonlight streaming in silhouetted their figures against the window. Thranduil broke the kiss and stared into Bard's eyes with a mixture of bewilderment and want. He trailed his lips down Bard's jaw and back up, plunging into his lips again with more passion. Bard took his hand out of the Thranduil's hair and used it to grab his back and pull him over to the bed. He landed on top of the elf, he then broke the kiss and rolled over beside him. Both, were speechless and lay beside each other breathing heavily, Bard reached over and clasped Thranduil's hand in his own and rolled over to face him, the elf shuffled over and planted a kiss on his forehead. Bard gave him a nervous look. 

"Would you care to stay here with me?"

"For the rest of the night?"

"Ah, yes... If you want to."

"May as well, I-." Thranduil shifted uncomfortably.

"What?"

"Do you think anyone saw what happened? We were right by the window."

"I wouldn't think so, in saying that it probably wasn't the best idea to do that over there."

Thranduil and Bard laughed over this for a moment, both taking in what had just happened. Bard got up to fetch more blankets for the cold, he laid them out over the bed and shuffled under, drawing the other man in closer to him. They both slept in relative peace, something Bard had not done for some time. He lay in a heavy slumber as the early morning hours dawned upon them.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, con-crit is always welcome. The next chapter will be up as soon as I can finish it :P
> 
> Until next time! :)  
> ~Ministry_Of_Fandom


End file.
